2. Chapter One: The Gift of Being Human “What are humans that you are mindful of them, mere mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them little less than a god, crowned them with glory and honor.” Psalm 8:5-6

3. Act Human 1) Everyone doesn’t have to like us. 2) It’s okay to make mistakes. 3) Other people are okay, so are you. 4) You don’t have to control everything. 5) We are responsible for how we feel and what we do. 6) It is important to try. 7) We are capable and can change. The same is true of others. 8) We can be flexible.

4. Humans are Made in the Divine Image (Genesis 1:26-31) page 28  Created out of love  God is the Creator.  Nothing created God!  Humans are in charge of the rest of creation.  Have we done a good job?  Made in the Divine Image.  What does that mean?

5. God is the Creator  Whether we want to acknowledge it or not God is the Creator and God keeps us in existence.  Throughout human history when humans forget about God then humanity runs into trouble. (Old Testament examples?)  We need to understand that we are not God (gods).  We have to acknowledge that God is in control.  Why is this not always easy to do?  When we say “God is in control.” we need to be careful that we don’t make God out to be some-sort- of puppet master.

6. Human’s Place in Creation  As Christians we understand that we are created out of Love and that we are to return the Love of God by serving God! God Makes Us in the Divine Image  God has no “body”. Pure spirit without physical or material qualities.  God is a community “Triune” (Father, Son, Holy Spirit)  What are our abilities  Think  Choose  Love  Relate to others in community

7. God Made us Male & Female  Humans are equal in dignity.  Spiritual-Material Beings  We have souls and bodies  You are a SOUL with a body NOT a body with a soul.  What does that mean? Creation Is Good  Life is valuable!  Life is Good!  The 2 nd Story of Creation helps to assert the fundamental goodness of human beings who were created for friendship with God.  Proof that God truly loves us can be seen in Jesus Christ.

8. Human Dignity  Dignity is the quality of being worthy of esteem and respect.  This quality applies to all humanity.  Dignity does not need to be earned.  We have dignity despite our personal accomplishments.  Our dignity comes from our relationship with God.  Respect for human dignity is the cornerstone of morality.  What does that mean?

10. Our Spiritual Nature  “The truth is not always the same as the majority decision.” (St. John Paul II)  “It is Christ, the image of the invisible God, that man has been created in the image and likeness of the Creator.” (CCC1701)  Our spiritual nature makes us unsatisfied with living merely a physical existence in the here-and-now.  Why  Why am I here? & Why do I exist?  “You have made us for yourself, O God, and so our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” St. Augustine

11. We Have and Can …  Ability to think  Ability to love  Responsible beings  Capacity to grow

12. Freedom is not license. What does this mean?

13. The Principle of Subsidiarity  CCC1883 “a community of a higher order should not interfere in the internal life of a community of a lower order, depriving the latter of its functions, but rather should support it in case of need and help to coordinate its activity with the activities of the rest of society, always with a view to the common good.”

14. Pg. 37 (Bullet Points) 1. The human person is and should be “the principle, subject, and object of every society. (CCC 1891) 2. Using gifts & talents – positions & roles … we all have RIGHT & DUTY to participate in the societies to which we belong 3. Authentic Authority comes from God. 1. Authority figures must be devoted to the common good. 2. Use morally acceptable ways of exercising power. 3. Political authority must be used morally and guarantee the conditions that promote true human freedom. 4. Larger societies should support the participation of individuals and lower-level communities without taking over functions these smaller units can do for themselves. 5. Societies should promote virtue and challenge individuals to turn from sin, serve others justly, and contribute their gifts and talents to the common good. 6. Common Good Requires: A. Respect the basic inalienable rights of each human being B. Promote the social well-being and development of various social groups.

15.  http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/inalienable?s=t http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/inalienable?s=t  http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/equity?s=t http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/equity?s=t

16. 7. Living in community requires that we treat everyone with the utmost respect!  Everyone is our neighbor; even our enemies.  All humans share the same nature, soul, origin, Salvation, & destiny  We all possess God-given dignity which entitles us to fundamental rights which everyone should respect. 8. We must use our gifts & talents to help others.  Those who are gifted are obligated to share with others.  We must work to eradicate sinful inequalities of wealth and social status that destroy justice, peace, equity and human dignity. 9. We are in solidarity with others.  Solidarity gives us courage and spirit of generosity to share both our material and our spiritual gifts with others.  We are all members of the human family and that we must go out of our way to help one another.

17. The Principal of Subsidiarity Common Good  “Sum total of social conditions that allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily.” (Pastoral Constitution of the church in the Modern World, 26) Solidarity  The Christian virtue of social charity and friendship.

18. The Social Nature of Humans  We are created as social beings  It is part of our human nature to live in various societies  We relate to others by loving and sharing our gifts  If we are indifferent or hostile then our negative attitudes and behaviors will impinge on others in a harmful way

19. Humans are Wounded by Sin  Adam and Eve chose themselves over God.  Their sin of disobedience infected the whole human race.  Original Sin  Humans have fallen victim to weakness, cowardice, avarice, and various other evils…  What is “collective sin”?  Sin (choosing self by ignoring God) is harmful to humans  This would be a hopeless situation if it had not been for the Salvation action of Jesus Christ

20. A Savior  Jn 3:16 “so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but might have eternal life”  Jesus Christ is God Incarnate (made flesh)/ He is Love made Flesh  Paschal Mystery  Passion  Death  Resurrection  Ascension  Delivers us (all humanity) from evil (eternal death)  We are adopted into the divine family of God at baptism

21. “Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no feet but yours; yours are the eyes through which Christ’s compassion looks out at the world, yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good, and yours are the hands with which he is to bless us now.” St. Teresa of Avila

22. The End